U.S. sanctions against Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) have come into effect after Washington declined to offer another extension of the company's special license, Sputnik Serbia reported, as the company remains under majority Russian ownership. Meanwhile, the Croatian company JANAF announced today that it suspended cooperation with NIS after the Serbian firm failed to obtain the license required to continue fulfilling their crude oil transportation agreement.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić addressed the public and confirmed that the sanctions had come into effect, but he assured citizens that there would be no problems with fuel supplies — until the New Year:
“As for fuel, we can now guarantee that no one will have any problems until the New Year. We have sufficient reserves of all petroleum products — gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil. All our storage facilities are full. We have nowhere left to pump more,” the president said in his address to the nation on Thursday.
According to Vučić, Serbia’s reserves currently include a total of 342,000 metric tons of diesel and more than 66,000 metric tons of gasoline, while the Electric Power Industry of Serbia has a year’s supply of fuel oil — a factor of great significance for electricity production, as the president emphasized. Fuel oil is sometimes added to coal to increase combustion efficiency.
Vučić described the sanctions against NIS as “in many ways bad news” for Serbia, warning that they could have serious political, economic, and social consequences. He stressed that the measures were not directed against any individual within the government but would affect all citizens. The president noted that the key question now is how to procure petroleum products and process crude oil in the future.
Vučić also stated that, realistically, the country’s oil refineries will be able to operate without additional oil supplies until Nov. 1.
JANAF, the operator of the Adriatic pipeline, is NIS's sole supplier. Under an agreement that was set to run from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2026, JANAF was to deliver 10 million tons of crude oil to Serbia. The Croatian company stated that it continues active cooperation with the Croatian government and U.S. legal advisers to explore possible solutions within the existing regulatory framework.
The United States announced sanctions against NIS earlier this year, before the Trump administration was sworn in on Jan. 20, but their implementation was repeatedly postponed under the new regime.